


Green Room

by professionalpotts



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Theatre, BAMF Pepper Potts, Inspired by The Sound of Music, Minor Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Multi, Tony Stark is Good With Kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-19 14:45:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19359127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/professionalpotts/pseuds/professionalpotts
Summary: Show season has begun, occupying Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor Odinson, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff. Tasked with various jobs, these six, with some help from the other members of the theatre department, need to make sure the show is an absolute success.SHIELD University Presents: The Sound of Music.





	1. Drawing the Curtains

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys! Here is my newest story. If you see this, I am so sorry my summary is bad, and I really hope the story is better than it sounds. The first chapter is just an intro, and the rest of the chapters will get into the actual plot. I hope you enjoy!

SHIELD University was not the most elite. Located in the middle of the United States, it wasn’t the best location. It didn’t have the smartest people, the best teachers, or the most gifted artists. Most of it was pretty average. Their theatre department, however, was impressive.  
Don’t make a mistake – it wasn’t an arts college. It didn’t have people from all over begging to get it. They just had a few kids that were dedicated to their craft and doing what they love. 

Take Natasha Romanoff. She was a tall read head with the worst resting bitch face you have ever seen. You wouldn’t know it by looking at her, but she used to be a talented dancer and has quite the singing voice. Thor Odinson, a tall boy built like a football player, is the only one who can match her stage presence. The two of them are the lead actors in almost every production.

Pepper Potts and Clint Barton are the glue that hold the theatre department together. Pepper Potts is the most organized person you will ever meet. She is the unofficial director and takes that position very seriously. She has anything and everything you will ever need and keeps their timeline on track. If you don’t do what she says, she will direct you out of her theatre. Clint Barton is the opposite. He is messy and loud, but he runs the stage crew, and everybody would be lost without him, not that they would ever admit it. 

Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Bruce Banner are there for embellishments, but that doesn’t make them any less important. Tony, with the help of his freshman assistant Peter, runs the lights and sound. Being the son of the famous Howard Stark, Tony was encouraged to use his expertise at a larger and more well-known college but chose to stay at SHIELD. A fact he makes known very frequently. Steve is a talented artist who helps with the set, though he is much humbler about his abilities than Tony. He started out just painting something to help his art teacher, though once Pepper got wind of what he could do, the rest was history. Bruce has very little theatre expertise. His mother was a seamstress, so when SHIELD had an open call for someone who could do costuming, Bruce decided to try his luck. He was a natural and immediately welcomed to the team. 

Nick Fury is the director, technically. While the theatre department needs a faculty member to oversee them, all of the company knows what they are doing, and Pepper is good at what she does. He just watches to make sure they don’t burn the house down. 

They call themselves the Avengers, because they show how non-arts colleges can still have an incredible production. They ‘avenge’ those who are overlooked. Tony came up with the name, with the help of everybody else, just to spite his father. Let’s just say that funding has been tight since then.

This spring, SHIELD University is putting on a production of “The Sound of Music.” With a company like this, what could go wrong?


	2. First Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions are high during the week of auditions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Here is the first official chapter. I hope you like it!! Sorry, I don't know much about the technical stuff so there are a lot of ellipsis. :)

“Okay Mr. Fury, so here is what I am thinking…” 

Pepper Potts had found Nick Fury exiting the teachers’ lounge during his lunch break. Before he could say anything to her, she had immediately hounded him with thoughts about the upcoming musical. As he walked down the hallway towards his room, she followed close behind. He intentionally tuned her out. 

As soon as he reached his office, he finally cut her off. “Ms. Potts, you are a very capable woman. Whatever you want to do, just go do it!”

She quickly checks her schedule before reporting back to Fury. “Alright then. Auditions will be next Wednesday after your last class and open call for crew members will be the day after, same time.”

“Perfect.”

Fury opens the door to his office and starts to walk in before Pepper starts to talk again. “Where will we get the children from?”

“What children?”

“To play the Von Trapp’s?”

“Check the community theatre in the city.”

“Oh, that makes sense. I have seen a few shows there and have a good idea for who to cast.”

“Great.” He tells her starting to shut the door.

“Oh and Mr. Fury-”

“Go to class Ms. Potts!” Fury snaps, slamming the door.

Pepper huffs and heads back to her dorm to start planning.

TUESDAY BEFORE AUDITIONS

Near the theatre, Natasha and Bruce are walking down the street.

“Are you auditioning for the show this year?” Bruce asks her.

Natasha chuckles, “You’re joking right?”

“I’m so excited! I have always wanted to do the costumes for ‘the Sound of Music’! With all of the dated dresses, the hairstyles, the makeup.” He rambles, before pausing to correct   
himself. “Well, I obviously won’t be doing hair and makeup, that’s Peggy’s area of expertise, but I still love to see it.”

“Yeah, it’ll be great! I love ‘My Favorite Things.’”

A blonde hair artist appeared on the other side of Natasha. “Hello.”

“Hey Steve!” Bruce chirps.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“The upcoming show.” Natasha fills in. 

“I have so many ideas for the set, Peppers going to be stoked.”

Natasha cuts in, “You two are forgetting that you still have to be picked. You know Pepper doesn’t play favorites.”

“That’s true, I guess. Though we do need to put together our portfolios for the open call, so we need to talk about it anyway.” Bruce points out.

“Okay, it was nice talking to you guys! I’m meeting with Thor to practice our auditions. Maybe you should go find Tony to see what his plans are. I would check the theatre.” 

Natasha suggests, branching away from them and towards the coffee shop across the street. 

“What about Clint?” Steve asks, confused.

Natasha raises her eyebrows. “You think Clint has a plan?”

“Yeah okay.”

“But does Tony have a plan?”

“While Tony is pretty aloof some of the time, well, most of the time actually, he does really care about this. Let’s be real here – when Tony cares about something, he puts in his full   
effort.”

“That’s true.” Bruce agrees.

The two continue to walk towards the theatre to try and find Tony. He is exactly where Natasha said he would be. He was sitting on the floor of the floor of the tech booth with a screwdriver and the sound board.

“What’s up guys?” Tony asks, looking up at them.

“Have you left here since yesterday?” Steve asks the other boy, concerned.

“What time is it?”

“Twelve in the afternoon.”

“Then no.” He gives them a cheeky grin.

“What have you been doing?” Bruce asks, looking over Tony’s shoulder.

“The sound board was messed up yesterday, so I had to repair it.” Tony shrugs casually.

“Oh yeah, no biggie.” Steve taunts.

“Why? Is that a big deal? I got it fixed!” Tony says defensively.

Steve sighs, “What I mean, Tony, is that most people can’t just fix a sound board by themselves overnight.”

“Yeah, whatever.” The genius waves his hand, brushing off the praise.

“Anyway, do you have a plan for what you are doing?” Bruce chimes in.

“I have some plans. For example, I want to switch the light shades from…”

The other two zone out, having no idea what technical terms Tony is using and what he is rambling on about. They just nod and smile and when he is done talking, they say “That sounds great!”

“Maybe you should come out of there soon though and get some sleep. Your call is in two days and Pepper won’t pick you if she thinks you aren’t taking care of yourself.” Steve   
says, eyeing the dark bags under his friend’s eyes. 

“Okay, just one last wire… there!” A loud ringing sound echoes around the theatre as Tony scrambles to fix it and the other two rush to cover their ears. “Oops!”

“Man, I’m lucky I can hear!” Bruce exclaims, rubbing his forehead.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Where are we headed now?” Tony asks, hopping up to leave with Bruce and Steve.

“Bruce and I are probably going to go catch up with Clint. You are going to go back to your dorm and sleep.” Steve tells him, pushing Tony in the direction of his dorm.

“Helicopter parent.” Tony taunts.

“Tony…” Steve threatens.

“Fine!” He throws his arms up in exasperation and heads to his dorm.

Steve and Bruce continued their rounds by heading to Clint’s dorm room to see if they could find the member of the crew.

“Clint! Hey!” Steve calls out when they saw the boy exiting the building.

“What is up, my dudes?” He calls out, waving to them.

“have you put together a plan for the open call yet?” Bruce asks. 

“By plan you mean pick the three people required for my crew. Then yes.”

“Okay, I guess that’s a start. Anything else?” Steve tries weakly.

“Do I ever have anything else?”

“This show is pretty competitive. Especially with all of the new over-eager freshmen.” Bruce warns.

“You say this every year. Pepper knows how I work. If she wants me, she’ll pick me. That isn’t going to change with whatever hypothetical plans I bring in.”

“…that actually makes a lot of sense.” Steve relents.

“Who is going to be on your crew?” Bruce asks, bringing them back on track.

“I really want Sam, Bucky, and Rhodey. Sam and Bucky said they were for sure in, but Tony is trying to get Rhodey as his assistant.”

“He already has an assistant. One of the freshmen, Peter Parker.” Steve points out, confused.

“Oh, then perfect! I’ve got my crew!”

Bruce checks his watch before warning them. “It’s twelve thirty.”

“Come on, Clint! We have our next class at one!” Steve yelps, pulling him along as the other boy rolls his eyes.

“Fine.”

While they were all preparing themselves for the auditions, Pepper was in the city finding children to play the Von Trapp’s. She wandered into the community theatre and was lucky enough to find that a class of talented children of all ages was doing a musical theatre rehearsal that was run by one of the teachers she knew. 

“Do you mind if I sit in on your rehearsal, Mrs. Wilkinson? I am looking for seven children to play the Von Trapp’s in our upcoming musical.” She asks, approaching the older woman.

“Yes, please come in. This is the perfect environment for that. You get both their personalities and their abilities.”

She listened to them sing and act and was blown away by how much talent they had at such a young age. “That’s amazing! Do you have any advice?”

“This is my most advanced group of triple threats, so I think it would be wise to pick from this group. My opinion is for you to pick Wanda, Harley, Nebula, Cassie, Cooper, Lila, and   
Morgan. You can see for yourselves, but I think those are the seven most suited to the task. Plus, even though Wanda is only seventeen, she is actually a freshman at SHIELD. Because she isn’t eighteen, however, she is still enrolled in our classes.”

“That is so perfect! I trust your judgement, Mrs. Wilkinson. Can you get me in contact with their parents?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll see you soon. Thank you for helping out, as usual.”

“Don’t mention it, darling.”

Pepper left feeling excited, having already had children for the show that were very talented. While she could’ve picked people from her own theatre department, the selection pool was not very large, and she wanted to keep the authenticity. 

WEDNESDAY

“Today is the day. Are you nervous, big guy?” Natasha asked Thor as the two stood in the theatre lobby waiting for the auditions to start.

There were people milling around everywhere, about thirty people in total. She recognized a few of them from previous shows and her various classes, but there were still some unfamiliar faces. She was also slightly nervous about the audition, even though she knows she has talent.

“Not at all! I have prepared and feel confident in my abilities.” Thor smiles warmly at her.

“That is a good way of looking at it. Let’s go in.”

Everybody slowly filed into the first few rows of the theatre. After a few minutes of waiting, Pepper took to the stage to address them all.

“Hello everybody! For those of you who don’t know me, I am Pepper Potts. I am the assistant director to Mr. Fury. I would like to start out by saying thank you to all of you for   
coming. I am very sorry that not all of you will be chosen for the larger roles, but hopefully this won’t discourage you. Now, we are going to go in alphabetical order based on the sign up sheet. Are any of you in here but not on the sign-up sheet?” Nobody raised their hands or said anything, so Pepper moved on. “Lovely. Okay, so first up is Carol Danvers?”

A few people went up and sung a piece from their song and did a monologue. It went by pretty slowly, but luckily there were not an unreasonable amount of people here. After about thirty minutes of waiting, it was Thor’s turn.

“Thor Odinson?” Pepper called out, and Thor climbed up the steps and took to the stage.

“Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me…” He sung out, sounding very good.

“Thank you, Mr. Odinson.” Pepper smiled at him once he was done and he took his seat.

It was a few more people before it was Natasha’s turn.

“Natasha Romanoff?” Pepper asked and gave Natasha a small smile when she stood up.

“Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens…” She sung out.

She felt like she sung that song the best she ever had in that moment.

“Beautiful as always.” Pepper complimented before moving onto the next person.

Finally, auditions were finished. “Okay, thank you all so much. Mr. Fury and I will make our decisions very carefully and the list will be up on Friday at noon. Thank you!”

“How do you think you did?” Natasha asked Thor as the two exited the theatre.

“As good as I could have. And you?” 

“My voice cracked on one of the notes, but other than that, I think I did well.” She shrugged.

“That’s very good, Natasha. Shall I see you at the posting on Friday?”

“Absolutely. Bye, Thor!” She waved as he headed towards his dorm.

THURSDAY

“How are you feeling, guys? This room seems more crowded than usual.” Bruce asked nervously as he eyed the continuously growing group of people in the theatre.

“It could be worse; we don’t have to stand up and present our ideas in front of everybody like the actors do. We just walk in, talk to Pepper, and leave.” Tony points out, as he takes   
a seat by the door.

Pepper enters the lobby and announces. “Hello everybody! I’m glad you all could make it! Is there anybody here not on the sign up sheet?” Two people in the back raised their   
hands, so Pepper quickly wrote their names down before continuing on. “Okay. Got you two. Now, I will call each of you in, you give me a brief summary of your plan for this aspect of the show. I am looking for creativity and commitment.” She pauses to look down at her clipboard before announcing, “Bruce Banner? Costumes?”

Bruce gulps, shoots the rest of the boys a nervous look, and follows Pepper into the theatre. She takes a seat at a desk, and gestures for him to begin. He places down a portfolio with his ideas and begins to talk through them.

“Here are my costume ideas, which of these items we have already, what we need to buy, and the overall budget.” He explains, pointing out each part in the folder.

“This is incredible! Very good work Bruce. Can you walk me through this?” Pepper says, her face lighting up.

“I was thinking these series of dresses for Maria because…”

Back in the lobby, they were stressing.

“I hope Bruce is doing okay in there. He seemed pretty nervous.” Steve says, nervously.

“Bruce is really talented, plus Pepper really likes him. He’ll be fine.” Tony waves off his concerns.

“You’re right.”

Right after that, Bruce returns to them.

“How did it go?” Steve asks as soon as he sees the boy.

“Great! Pepper seemed to really like it.”

“That’s awesome!” Clint cheers.

“Do you want me to wait with you guys?”

“No, you can go. Maybe drink some tea and watch a movie. Decompress after all the stress of the last few days.” Tony suggests, knowing his friend.

“That sounds amazing, maybe I will do that.”

“Bye Brucie-Bear!” The genius calls after him.

“Clint Barton? Stage Crew?” Pepper calls out.

“Destiny calls, kiddos.” Clint smirks at them before also heading in.

“Hey Clint. Do you have anything more than your crew?” Pepper asks, raising her eyebrows.

“Nope.” He says cheekily.

“Who is it?” She shakes her head fondly.

“Sam Wilson, Bucky Barnes, and James Rhodes.”

“That’s a solid crew.” She nods approvingly.

“I agree.”

“So.” She stacks her papers before looking at him in the eyes. “There are people here who put more effort into their proposal. Why should I pick you over anybody else?”

“Because,” he gulps nervously. “I really care about this. You’ve worked with me before; you know how it goes. I never have some intricate proposal on how to organize things and keep people in line. I have my team that I trust and can lead. I know everybody who works on this. I know the ins and outs of that theatre. You and I both know that nobody can do this better than me.”

“Okay then, Clint. I wish you the best of luck.” She gives him a genuine smile and he turns to go.

“Bye Fury.” He salutes the man sitting next to her before returning to the lobby.

“How did it go?” Steve asks, still nervous for all of his friends.

“It went!” Clint chuckles before heading to the door, “Peace out suckers!”

“Justin Hammer? Lights and sound?” pepper calls out.

“God dammit.” Tony whispers under his breath.

“What?” Steve’s eyes widen.

“I hate that guy.”

Later, it is Steve’s turn to go in to see Pepper. “Steve Rogers? Set design?”

“Hello Ms. Potts.” He greets her.

“We are friends, Steve. You can call me Pepper.” She says, shaking her head at the formality of it all.

“I just didn’t want to seem disrespectful.”

“You are just too polite. What do you have?”

“Here are my designs for the set pieces.” He lays out a folder full of his designs.

“These are incredible! This is just a brief sketch?” She gasps, eyes widening.

“Yes of course, the real thing will be much better than this.”

“No, I just mean that if this is a quick sketch, the real thing would be stunning considering how good this is.”

A blush creeps up his cheeks. “Wow, thank you.” 

“I’ll be in touch. Bye, Steve.”

“Bye, Pepper. Bye, Mr. Fury.” Steve addresses them before leaving.

“Tony Stark? Lights and sound?” Tony was one of the last ones to be called.

“Hey, pep.” He greets her, sliding into the chair across from the two directors.

“You better have something more impressive than Hammer.” She mentions, rolling her eyes.

“I always do.” He smirks before folding his hands on the table. He begins to explain, “Here are the opening lights and how they will change throughout…”

After five minutes of Tony explaining, in detail, how the lights and sound will work, he wraps it up. “So, is that all Tony?”

“Oh, and I want an assistant.”

Pepper could not look more annoyed by that if she tried. “We aren’t paying someone to serve you.”

“That is not what I mean.” He sighs. “There is this freshman, Peter Parker. He’s a super smart kid with a knack for sound and lights. I want him to help me in the booth.”

“Oh.” Pepper actually looks shocked for once, but she quickly masks it. “If I pick you for the job-” he gives her a look, but she ignores it, “then Peter can help you.”

“Awesome, thank you.”

“Bye, Tony. Great work as always.”

“See you soon?” He flirts, winking at her.

“Get out.” She frowns, but there is a hint of a smile.

FRIDAY

_Natasha: List comes out in thirty minutes guys. Want to meet outside the theatre?_

_Tony: I’m with Pep rn, so no_

_Clint: DO U KNOW THE LIST?!?!_

_Tony: No, she wouldn’t tell me because she knew I couldn’t keep my mouth shut_

_Bruce: I mean…._

_Steve: She isn’t wrong. I’m free, Natasha! – Steve_

_Clint: How many times do we have to tell you that you don’t need to sign your texts_

_Tony: And u can use abbreviations._

_Steve: I don’t like doing that._

_Thor: I’ll meet you Natasha!_

_Thor: I am heading over now._

_Steve: Me too._

_Bruce: Same_

_Clint: I guess_

_Tony: Don’t have too much fun w/out me_

_Natasha: Don’t worry_

_Natasha: We will_

_Tony: Traitors :(_

“Coming through!” Pepper calls, elbowing aside the people in the way.

“Let me see!” Clint calls out immediately jumping Pepper the minute he saw the list.

Pepper scowls, pushing Clint away so she could tack up the list. “Of course, it is you guys who cause the most trouble.”

“You know you love us.” Tony says, pecking her cheek.

“Get out of the way.” Pepper says, rolling her eyes at the team.

“Yes! We got the leads Thor!” Natasha exclaims, pulling the boy into a hug.

“Costuming!” Bruce pumps his fist.

“Set!” Steve cheers.

“Hey, Tony! Did we get it?” Peter Parker asks, running up to the older boy.

“Yeah Tones, are you on the crew?” Steve asks, looking towards the genius.

“No…” Tony looks down dejectedly. “Justin Hammer got it.”

“What? Really?” Natasha asks, shocked, turning around to check the list.

“Of course not! That dudes an idiot! Parker, we’re in!” He exclaims wrapping his arm around Peter’s shoulder and ruffling his hair.

“Yes!” The younger boy cheers.

“Anybody else we know?” Thor asks.

Natasha scans the list before replying “Carol Danvers from our theatre history class is the baroness.”

“Peggy Carter is hair and makeup, as expected.” Bruce says excitedly.

“Who are the Von Trapp kids?” Steve asks, curiously.

“Everyone except for Wanda Maximoff, who plays Liesel, aren’t on the list; Pep chose them from the community theatre. Apparently, they are very good. Wanda is a freshman here,   
though.” Tony muses.

“Nice.”

“So, see you guys tomorrow at the read through?” Natasha asks.

Clint cheers. “Yep! First rehearsal my dudes!”


End file.
